Chapter 18 I Wanna Know - Zeke
Across Town, A Couple of Hours Later
Sitting in the waiting room at NBP Memorial was not the first place I wanted to be because it was such a depressing setting, but how could I walk away from her at a moment where she needed me. Eva hadn’t hesitated to be by my side, and I was going to return the favor.
Eva was definitely the caliber of woman I didn’t know I needed.
She was a homie, a hell of a lover, and friend.
Our conversations never ceased to leave me wanting more from her, but we also shared the kind of connection where we could lay on my couch or in the bed and be comfortable in our own silence.
Words weren’t necessarily needed when we were together, and I loved the kind of vibe we had.
Feeling her squeeze my hand, she pulled me from thinking about what she would look like carrying my next child.
Without saying a word, she motioned in the direction of the waiting room door where a doctor had walked out and was walking in our direction.
“Family of Mr. Everett Monroe.”
“Us!” her mother and sister yelled simultaneously, jumping up to meet him in the middle of the waiting room.
While Eva had released a tear here and there, her mother and sister had been full on bawling from the time we walked through the doors. Their complexions were flushed, and their eyes were a shade of deep crimson red.
“Mr. Monroe is out of surgery and in stable condition, but due to the trauma he experienced to his head when he was ejected from the vehicle, we had to put him in a medically induced coma.”
“Can you tell me what happened? How did he get into the accident?” Eva asked as her mom and sister side-eyed her.
“I can’t say for sure what happened, and I’m not privy to the police report at this moment, but what I can say is there is alcohol in his system.
While it is below the legal limit, it is still very much present,” he stated, causing Eva to suck her teeth while her family said nothing.
“I can’t go into too much detail, but I can say that the family who he collided with at the intersection, are in recovery. ”
“Can we go back and see him? How long will he be in the coma?” Alexa asked.
“Yes, but you can only go back to visit him two at a time. If all goes as planned, he should be waking up within the next few days, but it is up to him,” the doctor noted before offering us a nod and walking away.
Seeing Eva’s demeanor stiffen, I rubbed her shoulders to alleviate some of the tension. Looking back at me, she blessed me with her smile, letting me know my gesture was appreciated.
“The two of you can go back. I’m going to get out of here.”
“Eva, you don’t want to see him?” her mom, Jacquelyn asked Eva, blotting at her tears.
“No.”
“But, Eva—”
“Mama, please respect me on this. I’ll be back to see him later, but I can’t do it right now.”
“Okay,” her mama said, nodding, wearing a slight look of defeat.
“This is ridiculous!” Alexa spat, exasperatedly throwing her arms up in the air, quickly dropping her hands back down to her sides.
“Alexa, let it go,” Jacquelyn sternly warned, giving her a knowing look. “There are some things you don’t understand.”
“Whatever!”
“I get that your emotions are all over the place, but one thing I’m not is one of your little friends, Alexa Evette," Jacquelyn added with her finger pointed in the direction of her youngest daughter. “You will watch your mouth when you’re talking to me. You’re not too grown to get the taste slapped out of your mouth. Do you understand?”
“Yes, ma’am. I’m sorry, Mama. I’ll wait for you at the door while you finish up with them,” Alexa expressed, recanting her hostility. “Thank you for coming, Zeke.”
Offering me a smile, she didn’t bother to look in Eva’s direction.
“Thank you, Mama.”
“You don’t have to thank me. I do need you to call me later though, okay?”
“Okay.”
“Also, like Alexa said, thank you for coming, Zeke. I’m sure I’ll be seeing you around.”
I couldn’t explain it, but the motherly hug she embraced me in, was enough to make me want to drop to my knees.
It had to be a maternal thing because when I closed my eyes, it was like I was being hugged by my mama.
It was needed, but I was afraid to express myself because of where we were and why we were there.
“It’s okay, son.” Jacquelyn said, releasing me.
In the slight chance Eva and I didn’t work out, Jacquelyn was going to always be a stand-up person in my book, and Eva was going to have to fight me to stay away from her mother because just that quickly she had earned a special place in my heart.
Walking out of the waiting room hand in hand, we ran into a woman who looked like a dark-skinned version of Eva and her mama. Before I could ask her about the strong resemblance, the two of them embraced.
“Hey, sis,” the woman who I knew had to be Eva’s older sister, Janet, greeted as her and the man she was with stopped in the middle of the double sliding exit doors.
“Hey,” Eva greeted, savoring the hug. “Y’all must of all but flew here.” Ending the hug with her sister, she hugged the man.
The hug held a brotherly and sisterly vibe, so there was nothing for me to say about the interaction.
“We did. I may have broken a few speed limits here and there, and it was only off the strength of Alexa,” she acknowledged, rolling her eyes and then quickly turning her attention to me.
“Is this him? ” she inquired, giving Eva a look I was all too familiar with when it came to females.
It was a look which let me know Eva had been talking about me, and from the way her sister was looking at me up and down, I knew the conversations were good.
“Yes. Zeke, this is my big sister, Janet, and my brother-in-law, Malcom. Y’all, this is Zeke.”
“Her man,” I affirmed. “It’s a pleasure to meet you two. I’m sorry it’s under these circumstances,” I offered, extending my hand in her direction and then his since he was further away from me in the square-like formation we were standing in.
“Oh, no. No need to apologize,” Janet responded, taking me slightly by surprise. “I’m only here because Alexa and my mama called me crying in the middle of the night. If it weren’t for them, we would still be in the bed,” she stated, briefly looking over at her husband.
The disdain both she and Eva held for their dad was surprising because it was something Alexa obviously couldn’t relate to.
I was a firm believer in there being three sides to every story; there was the side of party A, party B, and then there was the truth.
However, seeing how Janet and Eva mutually felt, let me know Eva wasn’t far off from her recollection of her dad and his ways.
“We were on our way out, but if y’all need somewhere to stay, you know my guest room is always open for my sister and favorite brother-in-law.”
“You mean your only brother-in-law,” Malcom teased, slightly nudging Eva.
“We appreciate it. I’m sure we’ll be seeing you later,” Janet assured. “It’s nice to finally put a face to the man I’ve been hearing so much about. Hopefully, all of us can sit down for dinner before we leave.”
“Yes, we can do that,” I agreed, looking to Eva for confirmation.
“It was a pleasure meeting you, man. We’ll see y’all,” Malcom added, preparing to walk in the opposite direction.
Walking to the car, Eva looked like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders.
“What do you need from me?”
“Nothing. Thank you for being here for me. I’m just in my head about everything happening. Between what you said and what is going on with my dad, my mind is on overload.”
“You want to be in there for them, but you don’t feel like he deserves your presence?”
“Yes,” she confirmed. “That’s exactly how I feel right now.”
“Never feel bad for choosing to go to a space where your mental and emotional health is priority. If you want to face the situation at a later time, I can respect and support you and your stance.”
“Thank you,” she stated, invading my space as we stood in front of the hospital.
“It’s all in a day’s work of being your man.”
“Yeah… about you being my man,” she hinted, slightly dragging her words while biting down on her bottom lip, trying to stifle the laugh vaguely dancing on her lips.
“Bring your beautiful self on before you say something that will make me want to break up with you.”
“You wouldn’t.”
“You’re probably right,” I conceded, “but either way, I don’t want to find out.”
Leaving the hospital, I had a one-track mind. My main focus was being as present for her as she had been for me because like I said, it was all in a day’s work of being her man, and I took my role seriously.